Blue Fire and Black Feather
by Rashomon Aetelier
Summary: When an increase in demon attacks at True Cross Academy town causes a reaper from the Phantomhive case of 1896 to be sent in to investigate, the Board suspects one of the Sons of Satan is behind the attack but what they aren't aware of is that they've pinned the blame on the wrong son. [Gen fic, eventual shipping will ensue]
1. Prologue: Earl Grey

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **So this is something I've been working on on the sly. I have to confess I'm not entirely sure where this is going yet and it might reek of headcanon but here's hoping you stay along for the ride. This is going to be my first multichapter fic in a VERY long time.  
**DISCLAIMER:** Kuroshitsuji is property of Yana Toboso, Ao no Exorcist belongs to Kazue Kato. If I owned either franchise, there would be some obscure ships that would end up as canon.  
**  
**

* * *

**Blue Fire and Black Feather**

Prologue: Earl Grey

"Goodness but old habits die hard. Your presentation is impeccable, as always."

"When one has spent so much time bound by certain aesthetics, one tends to hold fast to them, I find."

"Too true." 

There was a distinct aroma of bergamot and cream piercing the dimly lit room. It seemed like amongst their brood, the accursed royal line that shared the same blood, they were the only two who appreciated a good cup of tea and all the fineries that came with it. There was no other sound save for the sharp clnk of bone china as he stirred his tea. Fortnum and Mason's Earl grey and a dark chocolate sachertorte. Truly, his brother knew what to serve to cater to his tastes. Perhaps some good did come from forming that contract when he did. He continued to study his brother, the small smirk playing on his lips never leaving as he set down the teacup. He seemed almost human, with his dark hair and sleek dark tailcoat but the one detail that betrayed his true nature was in his eyes: Eyes as deep red as the raspberry compote that accompanied the cake. 

"If I may ask," he finally said, crossing his legs as he rested his head on his free hand. "What brings you here? It's been quite some time. Has father been asking for me?"

"Father has been curious as to how you've fared as of late."

"Well, tell him the answer is no. This place still holds much more interest than Gehenna ever did."

"He had said to allow you to your little games, seeing how fond you are of them. He sends his regards."

"How diplomatic of him."

"As diplomatic as you have been to allow me access to your personal playground."

"We're gettng a little off tangent, don't you think?"

"I've merely come to see how you were... and to check on the progress of the youngest of our brood."

"Oh...? Why the sudden interest...?" 

His raised brow was met with the smallest coy smile toying on his brother's lips. "To satiate father's curiosity... but mostly my own. " the other man replied simply. 

"You look as if you have much more than mere curiosity to satisfy." 

Silence pierced the room. Silence punctuated by the click of polished black shoes and the ruffle of a black tailcoat. "Perhaps I do," he began, closing his eyes as he adjusted his gloves back over his hands. "I've heard how the two have progressed lately. The elder is a wilder creature than we would like and the younger seems to be awakening to his true nature. At such a formative age and as their brothers, don't you believe it to be our responsibility to see to their education and training? I wish to take a more... hands on approach." 

"And what would you propose...?"

"Private lessons. With the city as their classroom." 

The amusement never left him as he raised his cup to his lips once more, eyes still trained on his brother. This would be an interesting proposition. The boys did need training, after all? What better than a little trial by fire? He allowed himself the smallest chuckle as he took a small sip of his tea.

"You haven't changed. Still taking responsibilities not necessarily your own." he replied before turning his eyes back up. "Are all the very best butlers named Sebastian?"

"Come now, Samael. I haven't been called that name since my last master." the figure in black replied, his laugh echoing through Mephisto's office as he disappeared into the darkness of the growing evening.

* * *

-TBC-

Liked it? Loved it? Faust where the hell are you going with this?  
Leave a comment!


	2. Chapter 1: Ground Zero

**Author's Note:** And here's the second chapter! How's it looking so far? Am I making sense? Starting to guess what I'm going to try and make you ship? It'll make sense in the later chapters, I promise… once I get them out, of course.  
**Disclaimer:** Ao no Ex is Kazue Kato's and Kuroshitsuji belongs to Yana Toboso. I like me some obscure ships.

* * *

**Blue Fire and Black Feather**  
Chapter 1: Ground Zero

They had been at this for at least four hours now.

It was a fight that Yukio had brought to the streets. Two shots to the head with blessed silver bullets was enough but he and his team had to be constantly on the move or risk being swarmed. The ghouls crawled out of dark alleyways and sewers, their numbers seemingly increasing as the night wore on. He had three others with him but even that wasn't enough to weed out these numbers.

Around then, coaltars swarmed. There were even more today. Several squads reported the number of coaltars in the city increasing day by day. Little did they know, that would be the start of it.

He sought shelter behind the wall of an alleyway, glancing out into the clearing in front of them. There were about twenty ghouls, both human and animal alike before them. Charging in without warning would prove dangerous. Perhaps all they needed was a quick distraction in order to get to a more open area. Yukio clicked his tongue in annoyance as he reached for his belt, pulling a holy water grenade free. "Get down!" he called to his team before releasing the pin and throwing it into the crowd of ghouls. The smell of their necrotic flesh corroding was enough to make him gag but he knew this would be their chance.

"All of you, move! We'll split up to cover more ground and meet back at the west gate." he ordered, pulling himself from his cover and dashing straight into the clearing the grenade had made. The rest of his team called out their affirmatives as they dashed forward after him.

Ghouls were slow, lumbering creatures which were easily outrun by an able-bodied exorcist. Coupled with the darkness around them, Yukio was certain that his team would be safe. They had managed to eliminate a small number but he knew when to pull back. There were too many right now. They needed backup. All they needed to do now was to return to True Cross Academy and report to nerve center. As he continued to run, Yukio noticed something odd following him. Footsteps. There were too many to be his crew, too fast to be ghouls. Someone was chasing after him. He continued to run, leading whoever it was away from the ghouls and his crew. The more he listened, the more he tried to figure out just who or what was after him. There were probably around four of them, if he was to count. Four who were trying to keep in step with him, masking their footsteps with his own. Yukio glanced over his shoulder but save for the occasional hint of movement in the shadows from a figure he couldn't quite make out, he saw no one. But they were there. And then he caught sight of it: light glinting off what seemed to be a pair of glasses. In a split second, Yukio twisted around in mid-step and fired two shots. The bullets hit what seemed to be metal, causing them to fly off to the side with a clatter. "Shit," called a voice. "Don't mind me! Just don't let him get away!"

These beings were not ghouls.

He looked over his shoulder to see a figure that was definitely human crouched over and groping on the ground. Four others like him continued the chase. They looked human enough, clad in black suits and all of them bespectacled but no human could move that fast. No human could leap across rooftops the way they did. One of them charged in, brandishing a large pair of what looked like gardening shears. Yukio ducked down, rolling to the side to avoid the blow before picking himself back up and continuing to run. "Who are you?!" he called out, glancing over his shoulder to see if the beings still gave chase.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" laughed another, leaping in and swiping at the exorcist's head with a rake. Yukio continued to duck and weave, kicking off a wall and using the rake as leverage to propel him up and over a wire fence. This did nothing to stop them. They followed after him, the one with the shears and the one with the rake never missing a step. They pulled themselves up and over the fence effortlessly, like a pack of hounds after a rabbit. Yukio glanced around, trying to find a means out. He just needed to slow them down, find a way to block their progress somehow. Then he spotted it: a fire escape ladder hanging just a little out of reach. His hand reached for his belt to unhook his last grenade. He wasn't sure who or what these beings were but if they were demons, the grenades would maim them enough to stop them albeit temporarily. If they were human, it would be enough of a distraction. Either way, he could make his escape as soon as he made his way up the building. He threw the grenade behind, flinching as he heard it go off. The footsteps seemed to stop. He didn't turn to look and decided to pull himself up onto the fire escape ladder. He caught glimpses of them as he climbed, noting that they didn't look hurt in any way. Smoke and light shrapnel remained where the grenade had gone off but the suit-clad creatures stood unharmed. They had stopped, only watching Yukio as he continued his climb.

"We'll leave it up to you, sir. He's heading up to you right now." he heard one of them say. Then he blinked and they were gone.

'Heading up to you'? Yukio mulled over those words as he stopped to catch his breath by the railing of the fire escape. He looked up at the roof which stood just one more flight above him and decided it could go two ways: he could leap off from here and head back to True Cross without any worries. It seemed that the men in the suits weren't giving chase. He could return to headquarters without any problems, submit his report and have someone look into these creatures… or he could go higher, climb up just one more flight to see whoever was in charge and get answers. Without any second thought, he chose to climb.

The evening air was chillier up on the roof. He barely felt it though his coat but his hands told a different story. Yukio held his gun at the ready, grip tight around the handle of both of his guns, pressing his back against the cold stone wall as he continued his ascent. He wasn't too keen on letting anyone get the upper hand. If whoever was waiting for him was leader of that pack of suit-clad bloodhounds he faced earlier, he had to prepare himself for the ensuing confrontation. Even if he was expected, as long as he didn't give away his position, he could still have the upper hand. The exorcist remained still, calming his breathing, one gun in each hand and taking one slow step at a time before pulling himself away from the wall. He glanced out, catching sight of a similarly dressed figure standing with one foot on the edge of the roof, one resting on what looked like a shiny red lawnmower. He toyed with a switchblade in his free hand, the other resting on his hip, seemingly distracted as he looked over the city. As Yukio stepped closer, he could make out more details; the way this stranger's suit wasn't buttoned up as properly as his subordinates, the faintest catch of sharp cologne, the way his hair was a layer of blond over black. "D'you know, I can hear you breathing back there." the stranger said, no malice in his voice. Just amusement. Pure and simple amusement.

Yukio raised his gun, barrel pointed directly to the other man's head. "Who are you? Why are you after me?" he demanded, hissing through gritted teeth.

...

"Where's Okumura?"  
"I don't know. We thought he came back ahead of us."  
"He isn't here yet."

"We don't have time to wait for him. Send out the backup teams and get rid of those ghouls. If you find him when you get out there, send him back immediately."  
"Yes, sir!"  
"I want a full report on what you've seen tonight!"

...

The blond glanced over his shoulder at the sound of that demand. Yukio found himself taking a step back. These creatures were definitely not human, if his dual toned green-and-yellow eyes were any indication. But he didn't seem the least bit intimidated by the gun barrel pointing to his face. Instead he sighed, rolling his shoulders as he turned completely to Yukio's direction. "Wager you would prolly be chuffed by this sudden mess and us giving chase out of bloody nowhere, eh?" he asked, stuffing one hand in his pocket, the other hoisting that lawnmower by his side over his shoulder.

Yukio found himself lowering his gun slightly. "What...?" he muttered in response. The blond had an accent that came in thick and indescribable to his ears. It was British. Rough and street-formed gutter snipe British.

At the question, there was a sudden look of surprise on the other man's face. "Ah, cor... m'sorry. Had the same problem first time I came here." he continued, ruffling his own hair. "Hang on a tick. It should kick in any minute now."

"I just want to know who you are and what you want." Yukio pressed on, his grip tightening on his gun.

"The name's Ronald Knox." came his reply, that casual smirk never leaving his face and only widening at the look of confusion on Yukio's own. "Wager you can understand me better now?"

Yukio could only pause, mulling over how his ears heard that thick British accent but his mind translated those words into perfect Japanese. "How... are you doing that?" he murmured, holding his head as he watched Ronald closely.

"You're just all questions today, aren't you?"

"None of them have any answers."

"We were told to keep an eye on you, lad." Ronald said simply, stepping forward and drawing his blade out of his pocket. "There's been an increase in the number of demon attacks to this town. The Board's none too pleased about it so they've sent us to take care of what he can."

Yukio stood his ground, returning his aim back up to Ronald's head and steeling himself to fire if the other man came too close but he hung on to every word. "Those hellhounds we saw heaped up in the back of town..." he continued, recalling what his team had found when they were on patrol two days prior. Those demons had been disposed of, the evident wounds on their corpses not like those any sword in their armory were capable of inflicting. The higher ups had concluded there was a vigilante group defeating demons. They were not to be engaged openly. Only observed. Only brought in when they were proving to be a danger to the townsfolk. Only hunted when shown to be demons themselves.

"Did you like that? Just a hint of what we're trained to do is all." Ronald smirked, lowering the lawnmower he had over his shoulder and revving up the engine.

"Why are you doing this?" Yukio called after him over the rumbling of the lawnmower.

The engine revved up louder, kicking up dust as Ronald pulled himself onto the motor. "Really? You honestly and truly don't know?" Ronald asked, the sound of the mower's engine almost drowning him out. "I figured the son of Satan would prolly know what a reaper was when he saw one!" he called without another word, driving himself up a wall and launching himself at Yukio with the mower's rotating blades inching ever closer to his face.

* * *

-TBC-  
Liked it? Think I need to get my head checked?  
Leave a comment!


End file.
